A simple misunderstanding
by TitchyCatnipSandwich
Summary: Set during Reno's rookie years. Free beer never comes without a price... Rated M as a caution for the language that isn't in there yet, but this is Reno. There will be language somewhere, and it'll probably be aimed at Tseng...
1. Chapter 1

**Ok, so standard disclaimers apply - unfortunately, Reno is not mine, he belongs to Squeenix. Enjoy the madness :)**

Reno flopped down on the bed, exhausted after a long day patrolling Sector 8. A rookie job, nothing too strenuous, yet nobody had looked at his hair funny or tried to trip him, and he had spent the day buzzing with nervous energy, desperate for a quick, dirty fight. But it was only 8pm; he should be out living the high life, or hooking up with a cute girl somewhere. Instead, he was lying on his bed, trying to work up the energy to head down to the kitchen and cook some noodles.

Eventually, he rolled over and got up. The kitchen was oddly empty, which was unusual but fine; all the other rookies seemed to object when he cooked noodles in the kettle. He didn't see why, but they'd all been told to get along, and he didn't want to get kicked out of Turk training because of a fight over a kettle full of noodles. However, with no one around, no one could object to him using the kettle until it was too late...

The noodles were cooked and eaten (from the kettle, of course – why make more washing up for yourself?), and Reno was just deciding whether to go down to one of the quieter bars in the area and spend a few gil getting a little tipsy, or head down to the rec room and sit in the ceiling and throw paper at people. Paper had no real use, 'cept for being thrown at people – no point having stacks of paper for doing paperwork if you can't write; Veld knew this and yet insisted that Reno write reports, same as everyone else. He'd just decided to leave the kettle and chopsticks as they were, and go find some paper, when the others appeared, bubbling and talking over one another as they clattered around the kitchen.

"Hey, Redhead! You missed a FASCINATING meeting!"

Reno rolled his eyes. ShinRa meetings were never fascinating.

"Guysguysguysguysguysguysguys!" A little blonde bounded in, two carrier bags spilling snack foods across the floor. "Who wants a movie night, just us rookie Turkies?"

The entire room froze in shock. The little blonde, the newest rookie, had been silent and withdrawn for the past month; none of them had been able to draw her into conversation, or even learn her name. And yet here she was...

Her smile dropped.  
>"You don't have to... It was... It was only an idea..." She turned to leave, shoulders slumped.<p>

A chorus of male voices rang out, Reno's included.  
>"Come back, lass!"<br>"Yer, come back 'ere!"  
>"You... You really want to?"<br>"Yeah!"  
>"We'd love te!"<br>"It would be our honour to join you tonight."  
>"Ye just surprised us, lass."<p>

She beamed, a brilliant smile that, Reno mused, must have been fake. No one could genuinely be that cheesily happy over a movie night...

"Great! I'll see you in the rec room in 15 mins! Don't worry about eating, I bought snacks and alcohol!"

Reno looked around. Everyone seemed just as stunned as he felt; he gestured vaguely at the door.  
>"Wha'... Wha' just happened there?"<p>

A collective shrug rippled across the room.  
>"I do believe she said she had purchased alcoholic beverages, though," piped up the tall guy at the back – damn, but Reno couldn't remember his name. Or any of the other rookies' names, for that matter.<br>"We wouldnae want te disappoint the li'l lady now, would we?" added the skinny one.

"Well... When ye put it like that... Wha' are we wai'in for?"


	2. Chapter 2

12 minutes after her sudden departure, the blonde reappeared in the doorway.

"Come on! Why are you all still stood here? I need a hand setting the rec room up - some of these pool tables are heavier than they look!"

The rookies all turned to Reno. He blinked.

"Um... Right. I think that maybe... Uh... Mr. Katana and Mr. Shruiken, you go with her, help her fix them tables – the rest of us'll chase up some chairs."

Unsurprisingly, 'Mr. Katana' and 'Mr. Shruiken' looked around with the rest of the group, trying to figure out who he meant. Reno sighed.

"Right. I can't remember most of yer names, coz we keep usin' other names and stuff on missions. So I'm callin' you all by the thing you like fightin' with the best – so, tall an' posh with the katana at your belt, you're Mr. Katana. You see what I'm doin' here? I might even shorten 'em sometimes, bein' as Mr. Katana's such a mouthful. You could be Kat, or Tana... So listen when I talk, coz I won't be callin' you the same name twice. Mr. Shruiken, you get me?"

"Mr. Shruiken" nodded. Reno smiled. Naming problem solved.

By 9pm, the rookies were ready. The entire rec room had been cleared of anything not fixed to the ground, and replaced with... Reno hesitated to call it furniture. He didn't even know where she'd dug up the monstrosities. They rustled and squeaked with every move, and caved in when you sat on them - he didn't think even Hojo would have inflicted these things upon any of his subjects.

A giant projection screen had been created, using several rolls of sellotape from the stationary cupboard, a giant posterboard that was found lurking in a forgotten corridor, and reams of paper from Reno's paperwork. He was kinda pleased that there was going to be some use for the paper; and Veld couldn't deny that it wasn't for a worthier cause. Turks had to rely on one another, after all, and team bonding and trust were very important things, which should be built on at every opportunity. Although he doubted this was quite what Veld had had in mind...

"Bertha" turned the lights off, flopped down next to Reno and hit play. The fanfare sounded, typical of the films found in the archives, and everyone settled into their beanbags. The rustling nearly drowned the start of the film, which, quite bemusingly, began with a pair of lips singing the opening song.

"WAIT!" Bertha yelped. She attempted to stand, slipping as the beanbag slid under her, and gave up. "Promise me something, guys?"

Dark as it was, Reno could swear he saw every guy's head hang in resignation. So there was a catch...

"In this film, there is... A section. Which is really, really good. But it's only really, really good if everyone joins in. So when they tell you to move, you have to. And if you do, I'll bring the alcohol in! I mean, it's not that far into the film, but... Please, guys? For me?"

Murmurs of forced agreement rumbled around the group. Reno, sat next to Bertha, had to actually say "Ok." Which rankled. But hey, he'd seen the alcohol she'd bought, and it was good stuff. If all he had to do to get it was move around a little, then... There were worse prices to pay for free alcohol.

The movie continued. Puzzled as he was by the plot, Reno found himself both exasperated and amused by the two main characters, who were both dressed in the most curious clothing and insisted on singing and dancing about their upcoming engagement.

"Oh Brad... It's cold, I'm wet and I'm frightened!"

"OF COURSE YOU'RE WET, IT'S RAINING!"

Reno jumped. The beanbag rustled sadly under him as he landed on a support beam above where he had been sat. Bertha paused the film.

"Redhead, what are you doing?"

Embarassed, Reno bluffed his way through.

"You get a better view from up here, Bertha. I can't see past Kat's head down there, it's easier to sit up here."

"Bertha?"

"Well... You completely bemuse me, but I can't call you Bermuse, so... You're Bertha."

A giggle. Several giggles. Outright laughter. Reno blushed. At least he hadn't called her Bubble...

"Well, Redhead. I was enjoying this film much better when you were sat down here, so will you come back? Katll move his head, I'm sure."

Kat obliged, and Reno was forced to jump down from his perch. He nestled back into his beanbag, fidgeting as Shruiken parted his uppermost hair spikes for an unimpeded view of the screen.

As Brad and Janet entered the mansion, he felt Bertha sit up taller.  
>"This is it, guys!"<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

To Reno's complete and utter horror, Bertha started singing along with the bald man.

"It's astounding..."

Then she stood up. And started dancing.

"Time is... Fleeting!"

Hauling Reno to his feet, she carried on singing with the madman.

"Madness... Takes its... Toll!"

Reno could only stand and watch helplessly as she continued to dance around him, hauling the other rookies to their feet as she circled him.

"But listen closely..."

"But for how much longer?" Reno cried, unintentionally in time with the madwoman.

"I've got to... Take control..."

The entire room froze, and looked at Bertha. Was this some form of power play, was she trying to rule the rookies?

"I remember... Doing the Time Warp..."

It was good to know, decided Reno, that he wasn't the only one who didn't have a clue what was going on.

"Drinking those moments with..."

2 shots of vodka and a few mouthfuls of absinthe sounded good to Reno.

"The blackness within me, and the void would be calling..."

Something was calling Reno, something loud and persistent. And it certainly wasn't any void.

"LET'S DO THE TIME WARP AGAIN!"

Hampered by the beanbags, the rookies attempted to follow the crazy instructions issued by the insane film.

"It's just a jump to the left!"

Kat tripped over a beanbag.

"And then a step to the right..."

Shruiken joined him on the floor. The pair of them huddled together, trying to avoid being trodden on as everyone else fought to stay on their feet.

"You put your hands on your hips..."

A simple enough instruction.

"And bend your knees in..."

Time? Tight? Neither seemed quite right, and neither actually seemed feasible when standing on a beanbag pile trying to stay vertical, but there was alcohol at the end of this madness. Reno was damned if he wasn't going to try.

Then Bertha turned to him, with a glint in her eyes, and he wished he'd tripped over at the beginning.

"But it's the pelvic thrust-"

Reno blinked. She wanted him to what?

"That really drives you insaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaane!"

That wasn't the only insane thing in the building tonight. Reno decided to end it, and quickly.

Watching from the balcony above, Veld and Tseng shook their heads in disbelief. In almost perfect timing with the song, Reno had proceeded to leap onto everyone and squish them into a beanbag, leaving them flailing on the ground as he ricocheted from person to person. The flailing turned into dancing, as each rookie realised the advantages of remaining seated while dancing to the song – most notably, they couldn't trip over anything if they were already on the floor.

"Shall we remind them of appropriate use of company resources and time, sir?" Tseng asked, a mischievous smile on his face.

Veld tore his gaze away from the frolicking rookies.

"Not tonight, Tseng. I think, this once, we'll let them have their fun."

"Sir?"

"Schedule an early morning training mission. They need to learn that Turk business will not stop just because they're tired and hung over."

Tseng looked longingly back at the group, laughing and swiping at each other as their limbs clashed and flailed. He sighed.

"Yes, sir."


	4. Chapter 4

Exhausted and out of breath, Reno poked Bertha. With a smile, she handed out the alcohol and popcorn. The rookies settled back down, each nursing a half litre of their favourite drink.  
>"Ta, Bertha!"<br>"Yeah, cheers!"  
>"Thank you."<br>"Oh, you're welcome... Come on, there's the rest of the film yet!"

Full of popcorn and mildly inebriated, Reno found himself enjoying the film. The characters were all some degree of naked, and when the guy with the saxophone started singing, he was pleased to find he wasn't the only one drunk enough to give dancing another try.

"Wait, what!"  
>"He didn't jus' do wha' I think he did, right?"<br>"He did..."  
>"That was covered in Basic Creative Termination! You don't use an obvious weapon like an axe in front of witnesses!"<br>"Ye don'?"  
>"No, Shru, you don't... Did you miss the first class?"<br>"He prob'ly did. Prob'ly in bed with Chell."  
>"He was NOT in bed with me! I was in that class!"<br>"Oh yeah? Why did Veld say not to use an axe in front of eye-witnesses, then?"  
>"Because people know what an axe looks like, and that people can kill with them. Whereas, if you kill someone with a spork and a beer mat, who's gonna believe an eyewitness who's swearing they saw someone kill the guy with a spork and a beer mat?"<br>"Depends if they knew the killer was someone like Redhead."  
>"Hey!"<br>"What? I've seen you in BCT. You'da killed that sucker the other week with the paper aeroplane, if Veld hadn't forbidden you from using paperwork for assassinations..."  
>"Oh yeah. Still. An axe? Does he have no taste?"<br>"Obviously not. I have never seen anyone, transvestite or otherwise, who thought that a lab coat that shade of green was in any way attractive."  
>"Kat! You're a guy! Where did you leave your manhood this morning?"<br>"GUYS! You're talking over the film again!"  
>"Sorry lass."<br>"Aye, sorry."  
>"Besides, he left it in my bed. Remember to swing by later and collect it, Kat."<br>"Not a problem, my dear. I'll bring your blouse back too."  
>"Thank you."<p>

"..."

"So, yeah... The film, anyone?"

To Reno's amusement, the inexperienced-but-no-longer-virginal airhead on the screen was trying to seduce the equally-inexperienced-boy-toy, slipping her gown off and petting him as he stared at her with his big, soulful eyes. He mentally retched, and eyed Bertha, slouching next to him on her beanbag. Thankfully, she didn't appear to be about to act this part out, with him or anyone else.

That was, until the airhead started singing. Bertha stood up, discarding her suit jacket onto Reno, who threw it off. She caught Kat by his collar, and pulled him up in front of the screen. The rookies watched, stunned, as the pair of them began to dance.

Not to be outdone, Chell hauled Shru to his feet and dragged him to the front, gyrating and twirling as she did so. Reno looked at the sword guy, newly mentally-christened as Bokken.

"Do we...?"  
>"We can't possibly...?"<br>"We shouldn't stop them."  
>"Shru and Kat'd never forgive us."<br>"So long as you ain't expectin' me to-"  
>"Provided you don't want me to-"<br>"We're agreein', then?"  
>"We are."<p>

"Wait, what are we agreeing on again?"


	5. Chapter 5

It was only half 10 when the film ended, and no one was particularly inclined to move. Reno himself was feeling rather smug – he'd seen a couple of the guys trying to surreptitiously wipe away tears when the transvestite died, and the girls were openly weeping at the demise of the blonde boy-toy, and had spotted the high-resolution security cameras in the corners of the rec room. You didn't get to be a rookie turk without a speciality of some kind, and Reno had several; hacking the security cameras was one of the talents he hadn't chosen to share with Veld, although he had no doubt Tseng knew. The Wutaiian seemed to know everything about him, and Reno didn't like it. Lost in his plotting, he didn't notice a figure standing in the main doorway, gazing at the scene through darkly-tinted glasses.

A sudden lack of beanbag caused Reno to crash to the floor, and he leapt up, cursing.  
>"What the fuck, yo?"<p>

To give her credit, Bertha didn't flinch. Instead, she gestured towards the paper screen.

"You put it up, right? Well, we can't figure out how to take it down – did you fasten it to the ceiling beams or something?"

"Bertha, it's paper. Why not just tear it down?"

"Because, if you take it down for me so I don't have to go up there and remove all the evidence, I might tell you my name."

Reno moved a little closer, until all that was between them was the beanbag. It rustled as he pressed into it, as she refused to give ground. The other rookies tensed, waiting for the inevitable.

"Might?"

"Might. And you'll not know, either way, unless you take the screen down." He couldn't argue with that, but he was quite happy to keep calling her Bertha. The flicker in her eyes told him she knew this, and he waited.

"Besides, we can't tear it up. You need it for your paperwork..."

The laughter of the rookies echoed through the room, following Reno as he scowled and scaled the wall beside the screen. The beeping of a PHS cut through the laughter, and Reno watched Kat check the screen as the other rookies started stashing the beanbags in the cupboards and binning the empty bottles and popcorn bags.

"Shit."

Every head in the room turned to Kat. The man was almost a carbon copy of Tseng – the same instinctive perfectionism, the same clear, careful consideration of each word he said, before he said it. Kat came up quite a lot in Tseng's lectures to Reno, not that Reno would listen to anyone telling him to stand up straighter, or to fasten his tie, tuck his shirt in and lose the ragabond look. For Kat to be swearing indicated... Well, Reno wasn't sure. Kat didn't swear, so it couldn't be good.

Noticing all eyes were on him, Kat dropped the bombshell.

"You guys all know John, right?"

Most of the rookies nodded. Unsurprisingly, Reno had no idea who they were talking about. He waited, hoping for someone to elaborate.

"Well, he pulled the nightshift tonight, hence why he vanished after the meeting. He just got a text from Tseng, telling him that he wasn't expected to attend the training session tomorrow morning."

"Lad, tomorrow's Sunday. We ain't got sessions on a Sunday."

"I know. I reminded him of this, and he sent me the text. So I checked our schedule. Tseng has added a session, tomorrow morning at 3.30am in the dojo. No clarification as to what the session is about, but we are all expected to attend."

There was a flurry of movement, as the rookies reached into their pockets for their PHS' to check their schedules.

"Shit."

"Fuck."

"Damn."

"Everyone excep' John?"

"Everyone except John. Might I suggest we curtail tonight's activities? It is fast approaching 11pm, and a session in the dojo implies physical exertion, for which we will all need sleep."

Sleep. Reno vaguely remembered what that felt like. He looked back down again, his PHS confirming that yes, he had a 3.30am session in the dojo, to see the room had completely emptied. He cursed a little more, wondering how in the name of ShinRa he was supposed to finish dismantling the screen alone, when a shadow in the corner of the room moved. He tensed, straining in the darkness to identify the shadowy figure creeping closer towards him.

A slight tearing noise flicked his attention back to the flimsy paper ripping its way free of the beam. Once that corner ripped, the only thing holding the screen up was Reno, and he was going to have to let go if he was to deal with the shadow. Letting go would make noise, which would alert the shadow to his presence and remove the element of surprise from his defensive attack.

A small click beneath him. Reno froze. The person was underneath him? A small smile crept across his face. This could yet turn out in his favour... He hadn't been an idle slum rat, and being a rookie Turk was improving his skills beyond expectation.

The last corner of the screen gave way as Reno scampered back along the beam, crumpling loudly onto the figure, who swore and fought his way out of the pile of paper. Reno gazed smugly downwards as the paper tore. No paperwork without paper... One almost dainty leap off the beam, and Reno was behind the figure, his EMR in his hand and pressed to its throat.

"..."

Reno had only heard of one person in the whole of ShinRa who spoke in silences and pauses. And the fact he had that person by the throat meant that he was in trouble, and it might be advisable to vanish – quickly.

He flicked the EMR up and away from Rude's throat, intending to make a clean get-away. Unfortunately for Reno, the EMR snagged on something. So he wiggled it.

A pair of sunglasses hit the floor and shattered. Rude turned and stared down at Reno, golden brown eyes meeting aqua blue, a strong hand snagging his left wrist and preventing his escape. The EMR fell from Reno's grip and clattered to the floor, letting out a few sad sparks as it joined the sunglasses.


	6. Chapter 6

Truth be told, Reno didn't quite remember how it got to 3am. He knew there was coffee involved, thanks to the cold mug in front of him, and lots of patches of one-sided conversation, in which he talked and Rude said nothing. He also suspected there might have been retribution for the sunglasses – his nose had been bleeding at some point, and it was only when he stopped for a bathroom break that he realised. All in all, it was one of his better nights.

He also wasn't sure how they'd managed to get into the AV room, although he suspected Rude had something to do with that, too. He knew why they were there, though – the antics of the other rookies during the film would make perfect blackmail material, and he was searching for some nice stills of some of the more embarrassing positions, before he wiped the evening from the records. He didn't want anyone else having the same bright idea as he'd had, after all. So far, he had Shru and Chell covered – one camera had a very nice view of what Shru's hand was doing behind Chell's back, while another showed where she had her hands. Very unseemly behaviour for Turks, Reno mused, and perfect for showing to Tseng, should there ever be a need...

Rude appeared to be rearranging the wires underneath the desk, which gave Reno the perfect excuse to start tampering with the camera feed. If, as he suspected, the cameras were the new X50 model, then he should be able to pan around the saved feed, and zoom in, hopefully giving him a nice view of what Bokken was doing when he thought no one was looking...

Surprised, he let out a curse, and absently heard a thudding noise, the shattering of glass and a different expletive. A quick glance confirmed that, yes, he'd startled Rude, and yes, his other pair of glasses was broken. However, that was nothing compared to what was on his screen. Ignoring the glare from his partner-in-crime, he went back to manipulating the camera feed, rewinding to the point which had caused him to curse.

"Rude?"

"Yeah?"

"These cameras got audio?"

An affirmative grunt. One last wire was clipped into place, and the speakers on the wall crackled with ambient noise. As Reno zoomed in on the two figures on his screen, the noise faded away and was replaced by the crystal-clear sound of the lovers as they caressed and kissed each other in front of the screen.

"He called me Bertha! Seriously, does he have no idea who I am?"

"I know your name, and who you are..." A quick kiss. "He doesn't know any of our names. Too high and mighty to mingle with the likes of us." A longer kiss this time, tongues flicking. Reno found himself leaning in closer, marvelling at the details the cameras had recorded. "Tseng's favourite... Guaranteed a place at the top... Why would he want to bother with the likes of us?"

"Don't be daft, Matt." A soft caress. "Come on... You're supposed to be a sex-crazy, unlimited-libido owner!" She grabbed his hands and held them to her face. "Don't touch me like I'm a block of wood!"

"Only if you kiss me again, El... And do it like you-"

A hand on his shoulder pulled Reno's attention away from the interplay between the two rookies on the screen. He wasn't sure how he hadn't noticed them while the film was on, but he had an inkling he'd been stealing Kat's popcorn while he wasn't on his beanbag. He looked up at Rude, and puzzled over the appearance of a new pair of sunglasses on his partner's face.

"Can you believe that? They're mistakin' natural talent for favouritism! And he thinks I'm 'high and mighty'! Plate-born bastard thinks I'M too far up myself to bother with the likes of him... Guess it never occurred to him a slum-rat might have learnt this Turk stuff from a young age..."

Rude handed him a new, steaming cup of coffee. Reno wasn't sure where from – there were plenty of *No eating or drinking in the AV lab* signs, and no kitchen attached with all the fancy appliances for making the fancy coffee Rude was giving him, but here he was, coffee in hand. Reno took a sip of the fancy coffee and continued.

"I mean, jus' coz I couldn't read nothin' on the intake day, so their fuckin' name tags meant nothin' to me, they think I'm one of them – a stuck up plater with nothin' to do all day but sit and read shit. And we get given so many code names in trainin', is it any wonder I don't know what their real name is?"

Rude passed him a vodka shot and a bottle of white liquid. Reno gratefully added the vodka to his coffee, ignoring Rude's wince, and looked at the white fluid in confusion.

"Wha' the fuck, yo?"

"You have training."

"And this is...?"

"Liquid caffeine. Used in the field during prolonged missions."

Reno flicked the cap off the bottle and added it into his coffee, before heading to the door. Rude shook his head at the mistreated coffee and sat down at the computer.

"Ok, so I gotta go then, else Tseng'll have my ass. Can you burn me a copy of tonight, with audio, before you wipe it?"

"Wait."

Reno turned back and went over to where Rude was expertly tapping on the keyboard. Bertha and Kata- no, "El" and "Matt" were centre-screen, back on their beanbags after dancing together. Matt was staring at his popcorn bowl in confusion, while El was looking sadly at the now-empty bottle beside her, certain it had been full when she left. Reno could be seen in the corner of the screen, smug and contented.

"I didn't do it, yo!"

"I didn't say you did."

"Rude, I'm gonna be late... Tseng's gonna kill me!"

"Shh."

"Rude..."

"Look."

Reno looked. Rude zoomed in. Reno's jaw dropped.

"When you bring my blouse back later, will you be staying?"

"Why, my dearest Elena, did you have something in mind?"

"Well..."

"Hmm?"

"OOH! Stop that!"  
>"Tell me..."<p>

"Oh, fine."

Matt waited expectantly as Elena pouted.

"Well, Janet then... She did a lot of singing while Rocky was sexing her up, right?"

"There was singing? I only noticed the sexing. There was good sexing. Lots of it."

Reno was struggling to equate Kat the Tseng-mimic with Matt the lover. He sincerely doubted that Matt was genuinely in love with Elena – he'd made the same small talk with a lot of women, and slept with them later, but he'd never hidden his true self from them. What they saw was what they got – a cocky, self-sure redhead with unlimited energy and a good reputation. None of this *peel back the perfect exterior, and reveal the REAL man underneath* crap.

"You dirty... Yes. And the major theme of the singing was... sex. Really good sex."

"You want really good sex? I can do really good sex!"

"So I've heard... But, I've never had 'really awesome sex'."

"You've never let me try."

"Oh, hush. I would, but..."

"But? I sense a big but here. Why do I get the feeling I won't like it as much as I like yours?"

She swiped at him. Reno cheered.

"Stop that! You just... Ugh. For once, it'd be nice to have a guy make me... well... um..."

"Spit it out!"

"I've heard you don't like it when a woman does that."

"No, I don't..." He leant in closer; Rude zoomed the camera in and turned the speakers up. Elena shivered as he nibbled her ear. "But I'm always willing to make an exception for you."

The look on Elena's face was a little over the top, Reno decided. How could she not see he was playing her, and doing it well?

"Tell me what you want, my dear..."

She appeared to be struggling to think straight. On-screen Reno glanced over and rolled his eyes at the pair, then drank some more beer and went back to throwing popcorn at the screen.

"Matt..."

"Tell me..."

"I... want a guy... who can make me... Hey! Stop that, I said! He'll make me... wetter than... an... ocean... and begging... for... MERCY!"

Matt leaned back smugly.

"Why, did I not just do that?"

Reno and Rude sat there, stunned. A little voice in Reno's head was whispering that it was 3.35am, and he was meant to be in the dojo. However, a much louder voice was telling him to use that film somehow, to take the recording and plot and scheme until he had the perfect revenge on the pair of them. Well. Mostly Matt, Reno admitted to himself. Damn plater wouldn't know what hit him. But, he'd get to make Elena's wish come true as well. Reno's brain did the maths – two birds add one stone equals one pie, plus spare ammo for later – what more could anyone ask?

Rude watched as Reno's eyes sparked with ideas. He'd been watching the rookies for a while, scouting the group for those with the talent to be promoted to active Turk duty. The others would be diverted to protection duties for less-important individuals – the people important enough to warrant Turk protection, but not important enough to get an actual Turk.

Veld had strongly hinted that Rude would be rewarded for recommending Matian to Heidegger as the best rookie to be promoted to the Turk's senior ranks. Tseng had heavily implied this would be a bad idea, and favoured Elena. Rude couldn't quite fathom that choice – yes, she was cute and perky, and quite creative, but she was also only a month into her training and still more likely to harm herself or her partner than her opponent. Not that he could see what Veld saw in Matian either. True, the guy could wield a katana with fearsome skill, and his professionalism rivalled that of Tseng himself, but...There was something about the man that made Rude feel uncomfortable. And, given as the new rookie would probably become his partner, that rookie making him feel uncomfortable was not a good thing.

That didn't leave many other choices,though. None of the other rookies were up to parr with Matian, except maybe Reno. But where Matian was almost a carbon copy of Tseng, Reno was the anti-Tseng. Matian had excellent hand-to-hand weapon skills; Reno could shoot like he was born in a Western. Matian had power and strength that nearly rivalled Rude's own. Reno had stealth and grace equal to that of Veld himself.

Matian fitted the Turk image better. Reno embodied the spirit of what it meant to be a Turk. Rude knew who he wanted as his new partner, and it certainly wasn't Matian. The difficult part would be in convincing his superiors of his recommendation. It wasn't likely to be popular.

A PHS rang. Both men patted down their pockets. Reno found his, and cursed as he saw the time. 3.45am. Rude's phone wasn't ringing, so Reno hit the redial button.

"Yo, Tseng, s'up?"

Rude pulled up a text programme on the computer. They weren't supposed to be in the AV lab; it was off limits to rookie Turks, and senior Turks without good reason. He needed to tell Reno this, and quickly. He could only pray Reno had learnt to read since his acceptance into the Turks.

"Where am I? Why, what time is it?"

Rude beckoned Reno over to the screen.

"I'm with Rude. Have you seen the bombs the guy makes? We were just about t'go blow an old warehouse up, so I could see some of the flashier ones. He said he'd take me! ... Well, no. But, he didn't say he wouldn't, so... Yes boss. No boss. Three bags full of TNT, boss."

Reno hung up. Rude had tidied, clearing all the empty bottles and coffee cups into the chute, and had started wiping the evening from the records.

"Apparently, I'm late for trainin'. Comin'?"

And together, they left the President's AV lab.


End file.
